(NEWS) WMU Research Among 40 Stories Over 40 Years of EU Funding

October

2024

WMU Research Among 40 Stories Over 40 Years of EU Funding

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The CHEK Research project, in which the World Maritime University (WMU) played a pivotal role, has been recognized among 40 stories selected by the European Union (EU) to illustrate the profound impact of its funding on research and innovation.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the EU´s groundbreaking funding programme, which has allocated €280 billion to science, research and innovation through several framework programmes resulting in 120,000 grants and benefiting 75,000 recipients to date. The publication, 40 Stories, 40 Years, highlights the breadth of research and innovation made possible through the funding.

Among the featured projects, CHEK stands out in the "transport" category for its focus on decarbonizing long-distance shipping. The feature highlights harnessing the clean energy of wind with a cargo ship’s maiden voyage using WindWing technology, and a hydrogen-powered cruise ship that in combination with a waste heat recovery system manages to cover the engine needs onboard the ship.

WMU’s participation in CHEK underscores the University’s commitment to addressing pressing global challenges and exemplifies the significant contributions WMU makes to the research community. WMU plays an active role in advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Recognizing that all the goals are interrelated and indivisible, the CHEK project particularly addressed Goal 7 focused on affordable and clean energy, and Goal 13 focused on climate action.

To access the 40 Stories, 40 Years publication, click here. Information related to the CHEK project can be found on page 87.

About Project CHEK
Project CHEK (deCarbonising sHipping by Enabling Key technology symbiosis on real vessel concept designs), one of the flagship projects of WMU’s Maritime Energy Management research priority area. CHEK commenced in June 2021 and concluded in May 2024. CHEK was led by a consortium including University of Vaasa (as the coordinator), WMU, Wärtsilä, Cargill, MSC Cruises, Lloyd’s Register, Silverstream Technologies, Hasytec, Deltamarin, Climeon, Manta Marine Technologies (formerly Yara Marine Technologies), and BAR Technologies.

The primary objective of CHEK was to demonstrate two future vessel designs - a wind energy optimized bulk carrier and a hydrogen-powered cruise ship—that incorporate an array of cutting-edge energy technologies working in synergy. WMU’s role in the project included conducting life-cycle assessments of the various technologies and comparing potential greenhouse gas emissions savings. WMU was also responsible for communicating the project results and disseminating them amongst stakeholders and policy makers.

The project succeeded in demonstrating that it is possible to reduce GHG emissions by 99% and 95% black carbon from ships while achieving a minimum 50% reduction in energy consumption using existing technology working in symbiosis.

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